Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Balance = consistently planning.

people often ask the question of how to fit everything in on a daily basis and although i am no expert, the advice i give is to think about balance as a long term pursuit rather than a daily right.

if we listen to the radio each day, it tells us we deserve to take a break, work less, enjoy a vacation and purchase x-y & z because they can offer us that elusive "lifestyle" we all yearn to have. what we don't understand is the sales grab on the back of that message. they are not sharing that message because they actually believe it, rather they know it appeals to our collective sense of 'most for least'.

let's face it, we all want to make our lives easier and there is no shortage of messaging willing to tell us how. however, balance is not always a day to day thing and if you haven't got a plan, all that will happen is you will quickly find yourself out of balance whether its now or later! our plan was to put our heads down for 5 straight years, in order that we could enjoy the next 10. to a large degree it worked.

awhile back, we spoke to a young group of people using an example of how quick it is to get out of balance. we used the example of coming home to your house.

you come in, throw your coat on the chair, shoes off in the hallway, head for the fridge to grab the can of coke, crack it while you hit the send / receive tab on your computer to see if you have mail / myspace / or anyone is online etc. you click it to see there are 100 (too much) you just got home, so instead, you head to the living room, sit down and watch mindless tv. when you are finished, you look around the house. its a mess and you have shit all over the place and 200 emails in your in box. too much to get to after a tough day's work. you eat, leave the dishes in the sink get half way through your things and become depressed bcs your house is such a mess.

vs.

walking through the door and hanging your coat up, taking off your shoes and finding them a home (everything has a home). pouring yourself a coke, in a glass, with ice and throwing the can in the recycle bin. siting down to relax. not with mindless tv, rather a paper, or news of the day, or your family to TALK. after you have had a chance to wind down, get on your emails during your scheduled time and get through them all. respond to the ones that need to be responded but stay on task. when you are done, finish the night with entertainment, or even better, read a book that will get you ahead intellectually instead of behind.

what's the difference between the two approaches. mindset & attitude. you see, people are all searching for this elusive 'balance' without understanding it's yours to create on a short term and most importantly long term basis.